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r23 – Four Causes of Laughter

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Lewis once wrote a book about four loves, but have you heard of his four types of laughter?

In the 11th of The Screwtape Letters Lewis describes what he believes are the four causes of laughter. The first that doesn’t do hell any good is “Joy.” In fact, Screwtape fails to even understand it. “Fun” is another source of laughter, but Wormwood is told it isn’t of much use unless it keeps a person from doing something more important.

“The Joke Proper” and “Flippancy” are the final possible causes of laughter. Each holds much promise for the devil’s purpose. The former can effectively destroy shame and the latter, an advance form of “The Joke Proper,” is very economical because a serious subject is made funny, but only indirectly.

What do you think of these types of laughter? Tell me below by leaving a comment.